Character Essentials
Characters are individuals with their own life stories that go far beyond ability modifiers and class and racial traits. Here are a list of things to add to your character sheet to help add substance to your character's identity and place in Keren society. Character Name Lists of sample names are included in both the source books and this wiki. There is a Name Generator upon the WOTC site. In addition, the Fantasy Name Generator is a wonderful resource for getting a list of names very applicable for Keren- many of the names used in this wiki were generated there or using this name generator at behindthename.com. Upon finding a suitable name, be sure to write down what pronounciation you think it should have if it is not obvious. Gender Keren was written as a setting where gender roles are far more blended than in human history. In most of its cultures at the start of the New Era, there is a great deal of gender equality and there are no stastical benefits or hinderances to selecting either gender for any race or gender. You also don't need to be confined to binary notions of sex, gender, or sexual orientation. Nationality-Region There are nine distinct nations in Keren. While not every race is native to all of them, there are at least two viable options for practically every race. There are also regional cultural differences; the dwarves of northern vs. the dwarves of southern Vallahir is an example. The Society Chart might be helpful in selecting a nation/region of a nation for your character's origins. Height & Weight Currently, the average height/weight for a man in the US is 5'10 and 194 lbs and the average height/weight for a woman in the US is 5'5 and 164 lbs. You can roll randomly for height/weight using the table provided in the Basic Rules or simply select something that fits for the way you imagine your character. Other Physical Characteristics Sometimes it is easier to find a picture to represent your character as an avatar or model. Concept art is easily found on sites like Pinterest, Deviantart, and the PC Portraits gallery on the Wizards of the Coast website. With a picture to work with, it is easy to decide on your character's age and the color of his or her hair, eyes, and skin as well as distinctive traits as a scar or tattoo. Alignment Alignment is a combination of two factors that distinguish morality (good, evil, or neutral) and distinguish attitudes towards social order (lawful, chaotic, or neutral) in order to made nine distinct alignments. *Lawful Good (gold dragons, paladins, most dwarves) *Neutral Good (many celestials, most gnomes) *Chaotic Good (copper dragons, unicorns, many elves) *Lawful Neutral ( *True Neutral (most druids) *Chaotic Neutral (many barbarians) *Lawful Evil (devils, blue dragons) *Neutral evil (many drow) *Chaotic evil (demons, red dragons, and orcs) Languages Your race indicates the languages your character can speak by default and your background might give you access to one or more languages of your choice from the standard or exotic languages of Keren. See the Keren Language Chart for help selecting languages. Personal Characteristics Developing your character's personality- traits, mannerisms, habits, beliefs and flaws will make them more distinctive and interesting. Beyond the categories you can add in favorite words or phrases, habitual gestures, bad habits, vices and pet peeves, or anything else you can imagine. Personality Traits Personality traits might describe things your character likes, dislikes, or fears, his or her past accomplishments, or self-impression. A useful place to start is looking at your character's highest and lowest ability scores and define one trait related to each. Either one could be a positive or negative: you might work hard to overcome a low score. Here is a link to a wide variety of personality traits to work with. Select two for your character. Ideals Ideals are beliefs and principles that are fundamental to the way your character acts and reacts. They encompass everything from his or her life goals to their core belief system. Select one for your character. Each background includes six suggested ideals. Here is a list of ideals to offer more suggestions. Bonds Bonds represent a character's connections to people, places, and events in the world. They tie a character to their history, inspiring them to acts of heroism, selfishness, or sacrifice when the bond is threatened. Determine who your character most cares about, what place or institution are they committed to, what is their most treasured possession and from there develop one bond for the start of the chronicle; the character might gain more bonds over the course of their adventures. Flaws Your character's flaw represents some vice, compulsion, fear or weakness- in particular, anything that someone else could exploit. More significant than a negative personality traits, a flaw should answer one of these questions: what enrages you? what makes you irrationally upset? What person, concept, or event are you terrified of or traumatized by? Do you have a vice that others could capitalize upon?